Slug casting machine



May 29, 1934. J STOUGES 1,960,650

SLUG CAST ING MACHINE Filed Nov. 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l l/V l [iN TORy 29, 1934- A. J. STOUGES SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 30, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 29, 1934 SLUG CASTING MACHINE Anthony J.Stouges, Queens Village, N. 1 1, as-

signor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New YorkApplication November 30, 1932, Serial No. 644,955

20 Claims. (Cl. 199-61) This invention relates to slug casting machines,slug casting machine showing the details of the wherein matrices arecomposed in line, the comcooling mechanism; pozed line presented to theface of a mold, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of a galley showing it themold filled with molten metal to form a slug equipped with the coolingapparatus and the ,3 against the matrices which produce the type meansfor operating the slug stacker; and 60 characters thereon. As the slugsare successively Fig. 3 is a front elevational view, partly in cast,they are ejected from the mold and dissection, showing the slug stackerand a portion charged into a receiving galley, wherein they are of thecooling mechanism.

assembled side by side in a row or column under In the description tofollow, reference will be the influence of a periodically operatedstacking made to well known parts of the casting mecha- 5 device. Such amachine is illustrated in U. S. nism of a slug casting machine whichform no Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler, No. 436,532. part of thepresent invention, and for this rea- In machines of this character, itis customary son only those parts necessary to a complete to permit theslugs as they are received in the understanding of the invention havebeen illusgalley to cool merely by exposure to the atmostrated in theaccompanying drawings. However, 70 pliers, but when a slug ofparticularly large face a detailed description of these parts and theiris cast, cooling; is necessarily slow due to the large mode of operationcan be found in the Morgenmass of metal contained in the slug. thalerpatent already referred to.

In accordance with this invention, the slug is As usual, the slugs S arecast in a slotted mold 2Q cooled quickly by subjecting it to the actionof a B carried by a disc B which is rotatably mounted 75 cooling mediumafter it has been ejected from the on a mold slide so as to locate themold first mold. The cooling preferably is eiiected in the in ahorizontal position for casting and then galley, and for this purposethe base plate of in a vertical position for the ejection of the castthe galley is provided with a series of apertures slug. During thecasting operation, the mold is 5 above which the slug is brought to restas it is closed at the front by a composed line of so received from thecasting mold. The cooling mematrices presented thereto by the firstelevator diuin is ejected through these apertures directly or linetransporter indicated generally by the against the slug, and thereafterthe slug is adletter A arranged to reciprocate in the customary vancedin the galley to make room for the next guideways' of the vise frame A.The ejection slug. of the cast slug is effected by an ejector blade 8Although a diiierent fluid cooling medium may B2 p d f Om the ma CamShaft M and be employed in practicing the invention, water whichadvances from the rear and push h is preferred, since it is the easiestto handle and Slug forwardly through a p 0f I trimming most desirablefor the purpose. Hence, a reserknives mounted on the vise frame A inalinevoir for water is provided together with a pump ment W the d W thet is in its 90 which has a connection with the apertures in electingposition, Whereafter the ug falls by 1' the galley base plate. The pumpis operated gravity into a chute B which delivers it to an from. themain cam shaft of the machine, so as inclined galley C Suitably mountedat the front to in 'll'v 'e its gpeyp tion in timed relation to the Ofthe machine on brackets C SBCUIBd t0 the 40 delivery of the slug to thegalley and the opera- Vise frame During the Subsequent Opera- (ion ofihe stacking mechanism. A drain contifm 0f the m hine, a stackingmechanism D nects the galley with the reservoir to return the isopfl'ated' advance the slugin the a y ccoling fluid thereto after theslug has been cooled. Ward 1651? out Of 'p the Slug 11BX13 AS theinvention is concerned chiefly with the to be dehveredcasting of slugsof ihe recessed variety, the aper- The Slugs 5 (shown in theaccompanying 109 tures in the galley base plate are so arranged dIaWingSand in Connection with which the u that the fluid will be projected intothe recesses p esent inv s p c y concerned) are of the slugs providedbetween the usual spaced of the ordinary recessed variety, being ptransverse supporting ribs integrally formed on in cross section andcomprising a relatively thin the body benealh the character bearingportion. body portion S and an overhanging character 5 In this way, themaximum amount of slug surbearing portion S supported by a series ofspaced face is exposed to the action of the cooling transverse ribs Sformed integrally onthe body medium. I and underneath the characterbearing portion.

In the accompanying drawings: So far as described, the parts and theirmode Fig. 1 is a partial vertical section through a of operation, exceptas hereinafter pointed out,

are or may be the same as those embodied in the commercial linotypemachines, or as disclosed in the Mergenthaler patent before referred to.

The galley C to which the slugs are delivered is inclined in the usualmanner, but in accordance with this invention that portion of its baseplate in line with the discharge end of the chute B is provided with aseries of apertures C through which a cooling medium, such as water, isadapted to be ejected. The cooling fluid is contained in a reservoir Rsuitably mounted at the rear of the supporting frame Withhi thereservoir is a pump unit P having a cylinder formed integrally with thebase of the reservoir, and within the cylinder is a pump piston Preciprocable upwardly and downwardly. Adjacent the lower end of thecylinder is a fluid outlet P which is connected with the apertures inthe base plate of the galley by a pipe P supported by a hanger member Fcarried by the frame F of the machine.

When the piston is in its upper position, as shown by the solid lines inFig. .l, communication is provided from the reservoir to the interior ofthe pump cylinder by a plurality of apertures P arranged just below thepiston in this position. The fluid flows through these apertures to fillthe pump cylinder, and upon the downward stroke of the piston to theposition shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the fluid is forcedthrough the pipe P to the galley C, where it is caused to impinge uponthe slug S.

Means are provided for regulating the volume a of fluid delivered to thegalley so as to prevent undue. splashing and overflow. Such meanscomprises a recess P formed in the bottom of the pump piston and whichcommunicates with the space above the piston through an aperture Pformed in the wall of the recess. The effective opening of the apertureis adjustable by means of a screw P threaded into the upper wall of therecess adjacent the aperture, so that by varying the adjustment of thescrew, the volume of liquid permitted to flow to the top of the pistonupon each'stroke thereof may be varied. Thus, if a large flow of fluid,to the galley is desired, the screw is adjusted. for a small back flow,whereas for a small flow of fluid to the galleyan adjustment giving alarge back flow is made.

The piston P preferably is operated from the main cam shaft M of themachine in order properly to time the ejection of fluid into the galleyjust prior to or co -incidental with the delivery of the slug thereto. Acam ii is keyed to the shaft and coacts with an underlying bent lever Mpivoted at its rear end to the machine frame and held in contact withthe cam by a spring M connected between the forward end of the lever andthe machine frame. The motion of the lever is transmitted to the pumppiston by a connecting link M pivoted at its upper end intermediate theends of the lever and at its lower end to the top of the piston P. Thecam rides upon a bearing member M provided at the upper edge of thelever M and when the cam shaft rotates to bring the high portion of thecam into contact with the lever, the piston is pushed downwardly,forcing the cooling fluid to the galley where it is ejected against aslug which substantially at this instant is delivered to the galley.Upon further rotation of the shaft, to bring the low portion of the caminto contact with-the bearing member on the lever, the pump piston isdrawn upwardly under the influence of the spring M which alwaysmaintains the lever in contact with the cam, the latter consequentlydetermining the speed of operation of the pump.

As mentioned heretofore, the galley C is mounted at the front of themachine on brackets C connected to the vise frame A. The galleycomprises a plate C suitably secured to the brackets as by screws, andhaving the apertures C as heretofore mentioned, arranged at the right inline with the discharge end of the chute B from which the slugs aredelivered. Underlying the plate C and fastened thereto by screws is acasting C having a chamber C connecting the apertures with the pipe Pleading from the piunp. The upper or outlet portion of the chamberencompasses all of the apertures and its lower or inlet portionterminates in a nipple over which the end of the fluid pipe connectionfits and to which it is fastened by a suitable, clamp.

After the fluid has cooled the slugs, it is drained from the galley anddelivered back to the reservoir. For this purpose, the galley isprovided in its front and lowermost portion with a drain hole C outthrough the plate C and which communicates with another chamber 0" inthe casting C underlying the plate. This chamber C tapers downwardly,terminating in a nipple to which a second pipe C is connected by asuitable clamp, the pipe leading from the galley to the fluid reservoirR. This pipe also is supported by the hanger member F and has its outletend ter urinating adjacent the top of the reservoir B, so that the fluidmay flow back into the reservoir for use over again. At this point itmight be stated that the pipes P and C for a portion of their lengthadjacent the galley are of flexible material so as to permit the viseframe to be swung about its pivot without disconnecting the pipes.Furthermore, the level of fluid in the reservoir R'is such that it willnot be forced through the galley apertures when the vise frame is swungto its lower position.

The cooling fluid is prevented from overflowing or splashing from thegalley by means of the upstanding flanges C arranged at the front andright of the galley and which are formed integrally with the casting 0For this purpose also, a lid (3 is provided, suitably hinged to theflange member at the right of the galley and extending to the left farenough to cover any slug which is delivered to the galley.

As the galley is positioned somewhat to the front of the discharge endof the chute B the intervening space is bridged by a chute section Cformed integrally with the casting C To prevent injury to the slugs asthey .are received in the galley, a bumper of felt C or other softmaterial is fastened to the inner face of the front flange C of thegalley and positioned so as g;

to be struck by the slugs they issue from the chute.

In order to permit each slug to remain above the apertures C aSlll'flCiEllt length of time to be properly cooled, the stackingmechanism D which tending through a sleeve D in the galley casting Ali CThe rod is movable inwardly or to the left in the galley to cause thestacker to push the slug from the position shown by the full lines inFig. 3 to that indicated by the dotted lines therein. The rod isconnected at its outer end to the upper end of an offset lever D whichin turn is pivoted at its lower end to a horizontal extension D of thegalley support bracket C. The movement of the lever D* is controlledfrom a cam A mounted upon the first elevator slide A. The edge of thecam extends vertically for a distance and then slopes upwardly to theleft or in the direction in which the slugs are moved during thestacking operation. The control is effected through a movable rod Dslidably supported in a sleeve D in the galley support bracket C. Oneend of the rod is equipped with a shoe D adapted to slide upon the edgeof the cam A and the other end with a bearing plate D upon which bearsan anti-friction roller D carried by the lever D and spaced somewhatabove its lower pivot point. A spring D is connected between the leverand a galley support bracket and serves to urge the shoe against the camedge.

As a result of the foregoing construction, when the first elevator orline transporter is moved downwardly prior to casting, the lever D isrocked to the left under the influence of the spring D when the slopingupper portion of the cam A passes the shoe D to advance the slug in thegalley out of the way of the slug next to be delivered. Upon the upwardmovement of the elevator after casting, the cam A actuates the rod D tothe right, rocking the lever D against the tension of the spring D andreturning the stacker D to normal position.

As stated at the outset, the cooling attachment is particularly usefulin connection with casting large slugs, that is those of the recessedvariety, having an L-shaped cross section with a plurality of spacedtransverse ribs integrally formed on the body of the slug and underneaththe character bearing portion. In order to expose the greatest surfacepossible to the action of the cooling medium, the apertures C in thebase plate of the galley are preferably spaced in pairs so that eachpair is positioned between two spaced transverse ribs. In this way, amaximum amount of the slug surface will be exposed to the coolingmedium, and as the stacker bar is immediately adjacent one of the openfaces of the slug, the cooling medium is projected into substantiallyclosed recesses formed by the inner face of the slug body and characterbearing portion, two transverse ribs and the face of the stacker bar.The result of this is to confine the cooling fluid and reduce splashing.

Although it is believed the invention is fully understandable from theforegoing description, a brief review of the operation may be helpful.After a slug is cast in the mold B, the disc B is rotated to locate themold in theejecting position, and the slug is then ejected into thechute 13 by operation of the ejector B whence it is delivered to thegalley C where it is brought to rest, upon striking the bumper C in aposition immediately over the aperture C in the base plate of the galleyand adjacent the stacker D in its retracted position. Substantiallyco-incidental with the delivery of the slug, the pump operating cam M onthe cam shaft causes the downward movement of the pump piston P whichforces the cooling fluid through the connecting pipe P to the aperturesC in the galley base plate where it is ejected against the slug. Aftereffecting the cooling of the slug", thewater is drained from the frontof the galley back through the return pipe C to the reservoir B.

When the elevator slide A is lowered for the casting of the next slug,the sloping portion of the cam A on the elevator slide A passes belowthe shoe D on the rod D controlling the lever D to which the slugstacker is connected. The lever D is thus rocked to the left under theinfluence of the spring D pushing the stacker to the left to move thepreviously cast slug out of the way to make room for the slug presentlyto be delivered. Upon the upward movement of the elevator slide, thestacker bar is returned to normal position in the manner heretoforedescribed preparatory to stacking the next slug.

It may be explained that the action of the pump unit is such that thewater is caused to pass quite slowly through the apertures C issuing inthe form of small jets under low pressure. Due to the large number ofapertures, however, and to the obstruction offered by the slug itself,the water will accumulate more rapidly than it is carried off, so thatfor a brief period the slug will be partly submerged in a pool of water.This will of course aid in the cooling of the slug. Indeed, so rapid isthe cooling of the slug that it may be picked up with the bare handimmediately after casting, as is frequently desired in the case of thelarger slugs.

In the accompanying drawings the invention has been shown merely inpreferred form and by way of example, but it will be understood thatmany changes and modifications may be made therein and in its mode ofapplication without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is tobe understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to anyspecific form or arrangement, except insofar as such limitations arespecified in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold in which a slugis cast, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, and means actuatedin timed relation to the slug ejecting means for subjecting the slug tothe action of a cooling medium after ejection.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold in which a slugis cast, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, a galley forreceiving the slug, and means for subjecting the slug while at rest inthe galley to the action of a cooling medium.

3. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold in which a slugis cast, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, and means forspraying water on the ejected slug.

4. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold in which a slugis cast, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, a galley forreceiving the slug, stacking mechanism for advancing the slug in thegalley prior to the delivery of a subsequently cast slug, and means forsubjecting the slug in the galley to the action of a cooling mediumprior to the operation of the stacking mechanism.

5. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold in which a slugis cast, a transporter for presenting a composed line of matrices to themold during the casting of the slug, means for ejecting the slug fromthe mold, a galley for receiving the slug, stacking mechanism operatedby said line transporter to advance the slug in the galley prior to thedelivery of a subsequently cast slug, and means for subjecting the slugin the galley to the action of a cooling medium prior to the operationof the stacking mechanism.

6. In a slug casting mechanism, the combination of a mold in which aslug is cast, a transporter for presenting a composed line of matricesto themold during the casting of the slug, a galley for receiving theslug, means for subjecting the slug to the action of a cooling medium inthe galley, and stacking mechanism acting during a subsequent slugcasting cycle of operation to advance the cooled slug in the galley.

7. In a slug casting machine, the combina tion of a mold in which a slugis cast, a transporter for presenting a composed line of matrices to themold. during the casting of the slug, means for ejecting the slug fromthe mold, a galley for receiving the slug, a cam carried by said linetransporter, a stacking mechanism operated by said transporter cam toadvance the slug in the galley prior to receiving a subsequently castslug, and means for subjecting the slug to the action of a coolingmedium prior to the operation of the stacking mechanism.

8. In a slug casting machine, the combination of means for delivering acast slug from the machine, and means for directing a cooling fluidagainst said slug.

9. In a slug casting machine, the combination of means for receiving acast slug after ejection from the machine, and means for circulating acooling fluid through said receiving means to cool the slug.

10. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a galley for receivinga cast slug after ejection from the machine, a plurality of aperturesarranged in the base of the galley in the vicinity where the slug isreceived, and means for directing a cooling fluid through said aperturesand against the slug.

11. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a galley for receivinga cast slug after ejection from the machine, a plurality of aperturesarranged in the base of the galley in the vicinity where the slug isreceived, means for directing a cooling liquid through said aperturesand against the slug, and means for draining the liquid from the galley.

12. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a galley for receivinga cast slug after ejection from the machine, a series of apertures inthe base of the galley, a reservoir containing a cooling liquid, a pump,and means for operating the pump, said pump acting to force liquidthrough said apertures and against the slug.

13. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a galley for receivinga cast slug after ejection from the machine, a series of apertures inthe base of the galley, a reservoir containing a cooling liquid, a pump,means for operating the pump, said pump acting to force liquid throughsaid apertures and against the slug, and means for draining the liquidfrom the galley and returning it to the reservoir.

14. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold in which a slugis cast, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, a main drive shaft,means mounted on said shaft for operating the slug ejecting means, agalley for receiving the slug, a series of apertures in the base of thegalley, a reservoir containing a cooling liquid, a pump, means alsomounted on said main shaft for operating the pump, a pipe connectingsaid pump with said apertures whereby liquid ing the ejected slug,stacking mechanism for advancing the slug in the galley prior toreceiving a subsequently cast slug, a series of apertures in the base ofthe galley, a reservoir containing a cooling liquid, a pump, a pipeconnecting the apertures with the pump, means comprising a cam alsomounted on said main shaft for operating the pump to force liquid fromthe reservoir through the apertures and into contact with the slug inthe galley, and means for returning the liquid from the galley to thereservoir.

16. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold adaped to casta slug with a plurality of spaced supporting ribs underlying the facethereof, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, a galley forreceiving the ejected slug, a series of apertures arranged in the baseof the galley. and means for ejecting a cooling fluid through saidapertures and against the slug, said apertures being so arranged andspaced, that the cooling fiuid is directed against theslug in therecesses formed by the supporting ribs.

17. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold adapted to casta sing with a plurality of spaced supporting ribs underlying the facethereof, means for ejecting the slug from the mold, a galley forreceiving the ejected slug, a slug stacker arranged at one end of thegalley, a series of apertures in the base of the galley adjacent theslug stacker, and means for projecting a cooling fluid through saidapertures and against the slug, the slug and stacker together forming aplurality of enclosures for confining the cooling fluid.

18. A cooling device for use with a slug casting machine, comprising aholder for receiving a slug ejected from the machine, and meansassociated with the holder for directing a cooling medium against theslug while it is at rest in the holder.

19. A cooling device for use with a slug casting machine, comprising aholder for receiving a slug ejected from the machine, and meansassociated with the holder for providing a cooling medium for the slugWhile it is at rest in the holder.

20. A cooling device for use with a slug casting machine comprising aholder for receiving a slug ejected from the machine, means forprojecting liquid into said holder for cooling the slug while it is atrest in the holder, and a drain for disposing of the liquid.

ANTHONY J. STOUGES.

